Thursday, June 16, 2011

The Happiest Place on Earth

So this is the big Disney post. But before I go on with that I need to recognize a wonderful lady who passed away. We found out as we were driving to Kansas City to fly out the next day that Andrew's Granny B had passed away. She was a wonderful lady and we were so fortunate to be able to visit with her on our way to and from Bentonville last month. Andrew went ahead and came with us to Orlando on Sunday and then flew into Bentonville Monday evening and drove to Cassville the next morning for the funeral. He got back to Orlando late Tuesday night. I hated that we had to miss the funeral though.We got up early Sunday morning and flew out of KC at around 6:30. It was Lincoln's first time on an airplane and he did pretty well. He finally fell asleep on the second flight.Andy had a whole touring plan made up for us that included our dinner reservations and which parks we were going to each day. After we got settled in our hotel we headed out to Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately we didn't get off to the best start because we ended up waiting for at least 45 minutes for the bus to Magic Kingdom and had people trying to cut in front of us (which I completely undertand since we had a group of 26). Luckily that was the only time we had to wait that long.The kids were so excited to be at Disney World and they said so many cute things but I have horrible pregnancy brain and have trouble remembering and collecting my thoughts :-). I just know that they were very excited to meet all the characters and totally believed in the magic of Disney.The first night we had dinner with the characters from Winnie the Pooh. It was so crazy trying to get all their signatures and pictures while trying to get their food too. Ellie and Jackson thought it was great but Lincoln didn't want anything to do with them.We rented this awesome double stroller and Andrew would push it to its limits. Maybe not the best idea to be running down the hallway of our hotel at 11 at night, but the kids loved it.The second day we did Animal Kingdom in the morning. Our mornings started early as we usually tried to meet up at 7 and head to the parks. The kids loved seeing all the animals on the safari ride but I think their favorite was the raft ride where we had the potential to get very wet but were smart enough to bring along ponchos just for that ride. After lunch we would usually head back to our resort and the kids would have some pool time/rest time. Andrew had to head out that afternoon and we headed to Hollywood Studios that evening. Jackson was so excited to go on Tower of Terror and Rockin' Roller Coaster. He ended up not being too fond of Tower of Terror-he was actually up pretty late that night just worried he was going to get nightmares from the video they showed during the ride. But while all the bigs "kids" were on the roller coasters some of us took the younger ones to see the Little Mermaid show and afterwards we discovered a gem. The Disney Jr. Dance Party. Quite a few characters were there including Micky, Minnie, Goofy, JoJo and Handy Manny. And they danced for over an hour with all the kids. And it wasn't that crowded because it was during the Extra Magic hours where the park is only open to people that are staying onsite at Disney. Ellie was in heaven.The next morning it was up and at them early again for the morning Extra Magic Hours at Magic Kingdom. We were there to watch them open the park and while Andy went to get us some fast passes for more popular rides, we took the little ones on Dumbo and the Tea Cups. All the kids really enjoyed the tea cups. I think we rode on them at least 5 times.Ellie's favorite ride was Splash Mountain. I think she did it three times. Sadly I couldn't do the bigger rides since I am pregnant. Thankfully everyone was so willing to help out especially when Andrew wasn't there. Our schedule kind of took its toll on me and I was very thankful for the help. Crazy thing was that Lincoln, who is usually best buds with my dad, wanted nothing to do with anyone but Andrew or I. So waiting in lines with him was not the most fun.One of the most exciting parts for the girls was their lunch with the princesses in Cinderella's Castle. Ellie was most excited to meet Belle. But she talked up a storm with all the others too.They gave each girl a wand and a wishing star and had them close their eyes and make a wish-so cute.Andrew got back late that night and we were so happy to see him. The next morning was Hollywood Studios again and this time we got to meet Phineas and Ferb. Molly was very excited too. As you can see, her and Jackson had matching Perry shirts.My dad, Todd and I got to sit with the younger kids sometimes when everyone else would ride a bigger ride. Here is our train of strollers and little rugrats. I think we were quite a site.We had a good break that night and didn't go to any of the parks. We just hung out around our resort and let the kids play. It was good for everyone and I especially enjoyed not speed walking for miles and an earlier bed time. Because we had another early morning at Magic Kingdom the next day and the kids were so excited to get their ears. Sometimes during our pool time they would have games. This one was a trivia game and Molly helped Jackson and Ellie win some necklaces.Andrew's favorite night may have been when we ate in Italy at Epcot. They had this huge table where they could seat all of us.We of course had to get to get our family picture in Italy and then Lissy had Ellie and Briley pose for her. Ellie had quite a few interesting poses.Our last night there we had dinner at Chef Mickey in the Contemporary Hotel. We got to see Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and Donald Duck. I finally had to hold Lincoln to get him in some of the pictures. It was a great meal for the kids.I think Ellie ended up in a lot of people's pictures because she just kept talking to all the characters as the moved around our families tables.And this is our last night. Everyone had a wonderful time but it was time to go home.And one of our last rides was It's a Small World. Jackson was not very excited about this one, butLincoln could have stayed on it all night.We stayed late to watch the parade and fireworks. My dad caved in and bought the boys light sabers mainly because Jackson told him it was his last wish.So Andrew bought Ellie glow-in-the-dark ears.

Between the parade and the fireworks they had a show called Magic, Memories and You. It is so hard to explain but so neat. It was kind of like a projection show and the castle was the "projection screen". Here is a link to a youtube video of it.


Even though I was exhausted and not feeling well, it was an amazing trip. THANK YOU MOM & DAD for getting this going for us and for all of your planning, dedication and excitement! We made some wonderful memories.

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